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The active forecast

Know which forecast the rest of the platform is using.

A statement can hold dozens of forecasts. Exactly one of them is active.

For each statement or category, the Active column carries a single mark. That active forecast is the one the rest of the platform means when it says Forecast for that statement or category — in the Financial Reporting comparison, on a KPI's Forecast figure, and in the deviation columns of a board pack.

Everything else in the list is history or a working draft. They stay visible so a forecast can be revisited, but they feed nothing.

⚠ Two consequences worth holding on to. Changing which forecast is Active silently changes every forecast comparison anyone opens afterwards — the figures move and nothing announces it. And a forecast built months ago, still Active, will keep answering as though it were current.

So when a forecast comparison looks wrong, the first question is not whether the method was right. It is which forecast is Active, and what range of actuals it learned from.

The Forecasting list showing one active forecast marked with a filled check and another inactive forecast marked with an empty circle.
  1. 1The Active column
  2. 2The filled check marks the active forecast for this statement
  3. 3The empty circle marks an inactive forecast
  4. 4Timeframe actuals shows what each forecast learned from

ValueWorks 2026.08

Takeaways

  • ⚠ Caution

    Exactly one forecast per statement is Active, and that is the one every comparison uses.

  • Changing it moves figures across the platform, with no warning.

  • When a forecast comparison looks wrong, check which forecast is Active before questioning the method.

Surfaces covered

  • Forecasting

Also taught in the Academy

Module 5 · Plan and forecast

Take it as lesson 5.5 in Business Analyst & FP&A